By drafting Kentucky guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, pictured, and Boston College combo guard Jerome Robinson, the Clippers might have sent a message that they feel confident in retaining center DeAndre Jordan for another season. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES — Only part of the intrigue on draft night involved the men the Clippers actually acquired. There was also the matter of what they didn’t draft: A big man.

There might have been a message there.

The Clippers filled a couple of spots in their backcourt Thursday night, trading with Charlotte to move up from No. 12 to 11 and nab 6-foot-6 point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Kentucky – who is no relation, by the way, unless he becomes really, really good – and drafting shooting guard Jerome Robinson of Boston College at No. 13.

They did not select Robert Williams, a 6-9 center from Texas A&M, a player with whom they had been linked in a number of mock drafts … and a player who bore some similarity to one they already have.

Williams eventually went to Boston at 27. And the bottom line might have been that the Clippers probably feel pretty good about retaining their incumbent center from Texas A&M, DeAndre Jordan, for at least one more season.

As other pieces from the Lob City Era have been uncoupled and scattered across the NBA landscape, Jordan is the last man standing. He can opt out of the final year of his contract before July 1, or he can re-up for one last year at $24.1 million and hit free agency next summer. In either case, the Clippers retain his Bird rights, meaning they still have a monetary advantage if Jordan goes on the open market.

Yes, it’s probably a reach to connect a college sophomore with a 10-year veteran. But this would certainly seem to confirm, or at least strongly suggest, that as the reload-on-the-fly process ramps up Jordan will be a key component again in 2018-19.

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If that was indeed the case, Lawrence Frank didn’t give anything away. The Clippers’ president of basketball operations gushed about Gilgeous-Alexander and Robinson, but when asked if the draft results meant a measure of comfort that Jordan would return, he sidestepped the question.

“One of the things going into the draft, what we prioritize is, draft the best available talent,” Frank said. “We don’t go by need. We go by the best available talent that fits what Clipper characteristics are all about.”

In other words, a creative “no comment.”

The Clippers still have some time to contemplate Jordan’s wishes. Thursday night they acquired a player, in Gilgeous-Alexander, who sees himself as an alpha dog, and another in Robinson who spent seven weeks in L.A. last summer playing against established pros and came away convinced he could play on their level.

“It was life-changing,” he said by phone from Brooklyn. “… I was very confident leaving there that I was going to be in this position 12 months later.”

Hanging with NBA guys on equal terms is one indication you can play on this level. Another is when The Logo himself lets you know he thinks you’ve got game.

“I felt like they really liked me,” Robinson said of his workout for the Clippers’ brass. “Talking with Jerry (West), talking with Doc (Rivers), they thought my game really fit them well.

“Jerry said he loved my game and the way I play.”

If Jerry says it, that settles it.

Robinson is a 6-5 combo guard who averaged 20.8 points per game as a junior at Boston College, shot 40.9 percent from 3-point range and improved as a shooter every season.

“He’s a fabulous talent,” Gilgeous-Alexander said during his phone interview. “Everybody in the country knows how well he shoots it, but what they don’t know is his playmaking ability as well.”

Added Robinson: “He hit it right on the head. We’re both very good playmakers, and we should be able to create (for) each other. Having a guy like that makes it easier for yourself.”

Oh, and as for that other issue …

“I feel like they don’t have an alpha dog point guard right now, and a guy that brings leadership to the group,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I feel that’s one of my biggest attributes, and what I bring to the table: my competitive nature and my leadership.”

Well, let’s see: Patrick Beverley, who only played 11 games last season before a knee injury ended his year, is an elite defender at point guard, as well as a guy who brings some attitude to the position himself.

Jim Alexander is an Inland Empire native who started with his hometown newspaper, The Press-Enterprise, longer ago than he cares to admit. He's been a sports columnist off and on since 1992, and a full-time columnist since 2010. Yes, he's opinionated, but no, that's not the only club in his bag. He's covered every major league and major sports beat in Southern California over the years, so not much surprises him any more. (And he and Justin Turner have this in common: Both attended Cal State Fullerton. Jim has no plans to replicate Turner's beard.)